CV

Academic Studies
 
Mayas studied Jazz Piano at “Universität der Künste” Berlin 1999-2001, followed by an "Erasmus" exchange year at the “Conservatorium van Amsterdam” under Misha Mengelberg, 2001.
 
Further Studies and Diploma in Jazz piano performance at “Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler" Berlin under Georg Gräwe, 2002-2004.
 
Since 2015, she is undertaking Phd studies at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden in Music Performance and Interpretation, investigating instrumental techniques, timbre and spatiality in improvised music performance.
 
Performances/Collaborations

 
Mayas performs internationally solo and in collaboration with a large number of musicians and composers.
 
She has performed and toured in Europe, the USA, Australia, Mexico and Lebanon and collaborated with many leading figures in improvisation and composers such as John Butcher, Andy Moor, Zeena Parkins, Joelle Leandre, Paul Lovens, Ikue Mori, Phill Niblock, Peter Evans, Andrea Neumann and Axel Dörner. She has performed at festivals and exhibitions such as Maerz Musik (2012,2015), Documenta (2012) or the Berlin Biennale ( 2014).
 
Radio Work
 
2013 Documentary for ABC Australia, “Inside Piano”
 the history of playing the piano with extended techniques and modern practitioners today, including research regarding historic keyboard instruments, composers ( Cage, Cowell, Bertoncini) as well as interviews with pianists using extended techniques today (John Tilbury, Anthony Pateras, Reinhold Friedl, Andrea Neumann)
 
2014 Documentary for ABC Australia, “Real Time Music Berlin”
approaches and styles of improvised music, particularly the “Echtzeitmusik” scene in Berlin, interviews with practitioners and curators
 
2014 Feature for Deutschlandradio Kultur, “Dream Machine Beirut”
 
2014 September “Dream Machine Beirut” adapted for ABC Australia
 
2015 sound essay for ABC, Australia, Creative Audio Unit,  “Home is where the heart is”
 
 
 
Curatorial Projects
 
 
Magda Mayas has been curating experimental music events and festivals in Berlin since 2005.
 
As part of her ongoing research, Mayas founded “Tasten-Berliner Klaviertage” festival, running from 2005-2009, during which contemporary and innovative approaches for the piano were presented, (www.tasten.org), featuring pianists and composers such as John Tilbury, Anthony Pateras, Chris Abrahams and Ian Pace.
(with support from “Ernste Musik Projektförderung ” Berliner Senat)
 
 
2009
 
artistic director of “Biegungen” together with Clare Cooper, at “ausland”, Berlin including concerts with Andy Moor, Sven Ake Johansson, Annette Krebs, Joe Williamson, Rhodri Davies, Andrea Neumann, David Watson, Christine Abdelnour
 

2013
 
artistic director of “COMPASS” Festival together with Tony Buck, an exchange between leading Lebanese and Berlin musicians and sound artists.
http://www.ausland-berlin.de/compass
(with support from Goethe Institut and Bezirksamt Pankow Berlin)

 

 

2019

 

co curating Festival „Music Unlimited” in Wels, Austria together with Kazu Uchihashi and Joe McPhee

 

http://www.waschaecht.at/music-unlimited/

 


TEACHING
 

Masterclasses / Artist Talks / Workshops
 
Magda Mayas has been giving workshops and masterclasses at Universities and festivals all over the world.
 

Europe
 
Musikhögskolan, Malmö, 2010, Workshop on approaches in improvised music with Tony Buck
 
Brno/Czech Republic, „Exposition of New Music Festival“, 2010, Lecture on styles and approaches in improvised music with Tony Buck
 
Lublin/ Poland „John Cage Year 2012“ at the Faculty of Arts MCSU
 
3 day symposium on Cage, the prepared piano, history and modern approaches of inside piano playing
 
Universität Bern, 2016, with Daniel Studer and Frantz Loriot
 

USA
 
Mills College, 2012 lecture and workshop on contemporary improvised music approaches with Tony Buck
 
Wesleyan University 2011 lecture and workshop on contemporary improvised music approaches with Tony Buck
 
University of Berkeley California, 2012, teaching Myra Melfords class on contemporary improvised music approaches with Tony Buck
 
Bard College 2011 concert and lecture on improvised music approaches with Tony Buck
 
Cornell University 2011 concert and lecture on improvised music approaches with Tony Buck
 
 
Singapur
 
La Salle College 2013 Approaches in Improvised music, with Tony Buck
 
SOMA, 2014, Prepared and Inside piano in history and modern practice
 

Australia
 
Brisbane, Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University
2012, Approaches in Improvised music, with Tony Buck
 
Brisbane, Queensland University of Technology,
2012, Approaches in Improvised music, with Tony Buck
 
Sydney Conservatory,
2012 Solo Recital and artist talk, composition class on inside/prepared piano playing
2015 with Tony Buck on Approaches in Improvised Music
 
 
Monash University Melbourne,
2015, Solo concert and workshop
 
 
 
Musicschool
 
2007 - 2017, co-founder and director of „Neue Musikschule Berlin“, www.neue-musikschule-berlin.de

 
offering instrumental lessons at 10 different schools all over Berlin, as well as interdisciplinary projects, higher education courses and workshops incl teachers and guest artists such as Marc Sabat, Barre Philips, Ute Wasserman, Axel Doerner, Peter Ablinger, Tony Buck and Burkhard Beins.

Performances/Collaborations (selection)

 

 

 

Mayas performs internationally solo and in collaboration with a large number of musicians and composers.

 

 

 

Magda Mayas has performed and toured in Europe, the USA, Australia, Asia, Mexico and Lebanon and collaborated with many leading figures in improvisation and composers such as John Butcher, George Lewis, Andy Moor, Eddie Prévost, Phill Niblock, David Sylvian, Zeena Parkins, Fred Frith, Hamid Drake, Joelle Leandre, Paul Lovens, Ikue Mori, Ken Vandermark, Okkyung Lee, Nic Collins, Elliot Sharp, Maja Ratkje and Chris Corsano.

 

 

 

2020 February, A race in space festival Luzern, solo

 

2020 January, Accretion solo with 3 pianos, in Berlin, studio Boerne and Gothenburg,

 

         Vasakyrkan

 

2019 November, with Vellum, Tony Buck and John Butcher, at ausland Berlin

 

2019 November, co curating Festival „Music Unlinmited“ in Wels, Performance with Joe

 

         McPhee and Kazu Uchihashi, and Zeena Parkins, Rhodri Davis, Angharad Davis, 

 

         Anthea Caddy, Michael Thieke, Christine Abdelnour, AImee Theriot,

 

2019 October, solo at Gropius Bau Berlin within Rashid Johnson’s work “Antoine’s  

 

         Organ”

 

2019 June, at KM28 with Elliot Sharp and Hillary Jeffrey

 

2019 May, at Exploratorium Berlin with Liz Allbee, Ute Wassermann, Martin Blume,

 

         Thomas Lehn, Phil Minton

 

2019 April, solo at Centre for New Music SF, USA

 

2019 April, residency at Montalvo Arts Centre Saratoga, USA

 

2019 March, solo performance of „Memory piece“ at the 29 speaker dome at KMH 

 

         Stockholm

 

2019 March, with Nic Collins and Liz Allbee at KM28 Berlin

 

2018 September with Christine Abdelnour at Ultima Festival Oslo

 

2018 September, at Willisau Jazz Festival with Spill

 

2018 August at Meteo Festival France with Splitter Orchester

 

2018 July at Kopenhagen Jazzfestival with Lotte Anker and Fred Frith

 

2018 May, at Akademie der Künste Berlin, with Next International
         Ken Vandermark, Mette Rasmussen, Nate Wooley, Mats
         Äleklint, Jasper Stadhouders, Emilio Gordoa, Steve Heather

 

2018 April, with Susanne Abbuehl and Marylin Mazur at Lyon Opera

 

2018 March, Borealis festival with Stephan Meidell’s Metrics

 

2018 February, Solo at the Berlin Berlinale, in a project with Georges Méliès movies

 

2017, November, New York, Stone mit Ikue Mori, Tony Buck, Ned Rothenberg und

 

          Billy Martin

 

2017, November, New York, duo mit Zeena Parkins, Columbia University

 

2017, August, Méteo Festival Mulhouse, with Spill

 

2017, August, A l’arme Festival Berlin, with Okkyung Lee, Chris Corsano and Christine 

 

          Abdelnour

 

2016, November, Bimhuis Amsterdam, Necks 30th Anniversary Festival, with Tony Buck  

 

           and John Butcher

 

2016, November, at “Music Unlimited” Wels, Austria, with Zeena Parkins, Carla Kihlstedt  

 

          and Bob Ostertag

 

2016, September, LA, Duo with Maja Ratkje

 

2016 May, The Empty Gallery, Hong Kong, with Spill

 

2016, April, “Geiger”, Gothenburg, with Eddie Prévost, Palle Dahlstedt and Per Anders

 

         Nilsson

 

2015 November, at the Huddersfield Festival for Contemporary Music, with Berlin  

 

         Splitter Orchester

 

2015 November, at Jazzfest Berlin, with Berlin Splitter Orchester

 

2015 July, Kongsberg Jazz Festival with Spill

 

2015 June, Art of improvisation Festival, Wroclav, with Tony Buck and John Butcher

 

2015 May, El nicho Festival Mexico City, Spill

 

2015 March, Maerzmusik Festival, Berlin, within a project of Zeena Parkins

 

2015 March, Solo at Monash University Melbourne, Australia

 

2015, Februar, Solo at “Te Uru” Gallery Auckland, New Zealand, as part of the Michael 

 

          Parekowhai Piano Artwork Exhibition

 

2014 October, Festival Densites, France with Laura Altman and Monika                

 

          Brooks

 

2014 October performance within a project of Tarek Atoui at the Louis Vuitton

 

          Foundation Paris, with Ikue Mori, Jim Black, Zeena Parkins, Keith Rowe, Burkhard

 

          Beins, Axel Dörner, among others

 

2014 May/June performance within a project of Tarek Atoui at the Berlin Biennale,

 

          at the Museum for Music Ethnology in Berlin Dahlem

 

2014 May, „ausland“ Berlin, with Jon Rose

 

2014 January,„All ears festival“ ,Oslo with Laura Altman and Monika                 

 

          Brooks

 

2013 November, “Suddenly Listen” Music series, Halifax, Canada

 

2013 October, “Dream Machine” Festival, Beirut, solo performance with “N+M” sound

 

          and video installation by Phill Niblock

 

2013, September, Baltimore, USA, “High Zero” festival, solo

 

2013, September, “Roulette” New York, Solo

 

2013, September, “Walcheturm” Zurich, with Daniel Studer, Peter Frey

 

2013, August, “Concepts of doing” Festival Berlin, with Chris Burn

 

2013, July, “Konfrontationen“ Festival, Austria, with Paul Lovens, Tony Buck, Hamid

 

          Drake, Joelle Leandre, Liz Albee, Christoph Kurzmann.. “Butch Morris Memorial

 

          Band”

 

2012 November, “Sound of Stockholm” Festival with Laura Altman and David

 

         Stackenäs

 

2012 November, “Fri Resonans” Festival, Trondheim, with Tony Buck and Laura Altman

 

2012 November, “Unlimited Festival” Wels, Austria, with Laura Altman and Monika                

 

         Brooks

 

2012 October, “Rendez vous contemporains de saint merry”, Paris, with Laura Altman

 

2012 October, London, “Cafe Oto” with Laura Altman and Phil Durrant

 

2012 September, San Francisco, CNMAT Berkley, with Gino Robair and Tony Buck

 

2012 September, Seattle,USA, ”Nonsequitur” concert series, solo

 

2012 September,Interdisciplinary project with writer Carla Harryman (USA) presented at

 

         “Dokumenta 2012”

 

2012, May, “Muse ruole Festival”, Bolzano, solo

 

2012 January, “Zwei Tage Zeit” Festival Zürich, with Tony Buck

 

2011 November, “Sound trips” Tour in Munster, Cologne, Wuppertal, Germany, with

 

         Christine Abdelnour

 

2011 October, “Densites” Festival, France, with Jim Denley

 

2011 September, “I beam”, New York, with Nate Wooley and Tony Buck

 

2011 September, “Roulette “ New York, with Tony Buck

 

2011 August, “Meteo festival”, Mulhouse, France, with Christine Abdelnour

 

2011 July, “Konfrontationen” Austria, with Laura Altman and Monika Brooks

 

2011 May, “Codes” Festival, Lublin, Poland with Christine Abdelnour

 

2011 May, “Freedom of the city” festival, London with John Butcher and Tony Buck

 

2011 March, Collaboration  with Phill Niblock on the video installation piece “N+M”

 

         which was premiered in Berlin at the festival “Maerzmusik” and presented at the

 

         Elysee Lausanne as part of his 80th anniversary retrospective

 

2011 January Festival “Mona Foma”, Hobart, Australia, with Tony Buck

 

2011 January, “Bennets Lane”, Melbourne, solo

 

2010 November, “ÄÄNEN LUMO” Festival Helsinki, with Tony Buck

 

2010 October, Oslo, “Nasjonal Jazzscene”, with Tony Buck

 

2010 September, “Echtzeitmusik” Festival, Berlin, Solo

 

2010 September,Ystad, “Modern Art Museum” with poets Ida Borjel and

 

         Uljana Wolf

 

2010 May, “Ring Ring” festival, Belgrade with Tony Buck, James Welburn and Brendan

 

          Dougherty

 

2010  May, “Cafe Oto” with John Butcher and Tony Buck,

 

2010  April, “Fylkningen”, Stockholm with Christine Abdelnour,

 

2010  April, “Irtijal” Festival Beirut, with Tony Buck

 

2010  March, “Borealis” Festival, Oslo, with Tony Buck

 

2009  December, “Next” Festival, Bratislava,with Andy Moor, Christine Abdelnour,

 

          Tony Buck

 

2009  November, “Fri Resonans” Festival, Trondheim, Solo

 

2009  October, “City of Women” Festival, Ljubljana

 

2009  October, “Approximation” Festival Dusseldorf, with Tony Buck

 

2009  July, “Konfrontationen” festival, Austria, with Andy Moor, Christine Abdelnour,

 

          Tony Buck

 

2009  March,  “Exposition of New Music”, Brno,Czech Republic with Sabine Vogel and

 

          Michael Renkel

 

2009  February, Boston, Goethe Institute, with Annette Krebs and Anthea Caddy

 

2009  February “Princeton University” with Annette Krebs and Anthea Caddy,

 

2009  February, “Bowerbird Series”, Philadelphia, with Annette Krebs and Anthea Caddy

 

2009  January,USA Tour with Annette Krebs and Anthea Caddy,

 

          “Stone”, New York

 

2008  November, “Labor Sonor Berlin” with Okkyung Lee and Tony Buck

 

2008  September, “Douglas Street Music Collective”, New York, Trio with Tony Buck,

 

          Nate Wooley

 

2008  September, “Hideout” Chicago, with Tony Buck

 

2008  September, “Roulette” New York, Solo

 

2008  August, Issue Project Room, New York, with Andy Moor

 

2008  May, “Moers Festival” with Robin Fox, Anthea Caddy, Clare Cooper,

 

          Clayton Thomas

 

 

 

 

 

Discography:

 

 

 

2020 Duo with Christine Abdelnour on Sofa records

 

2019 Volumes “View” mit Fredrik Rasten, Isak Hedtjärn and Torstein Lavik Larsen    on Va Fongool

 

2019 The Pitch and Splitter Orchester, Frozen Orchestra (Splitter) on mikroton  recordings

 

2018 Spill “Stereo” mit Tony Buck on Corvo records Berlin

 

2017 “Tempe Jetz” Jim Denley Duo on  creative sources

 

2017 “Boule Spiel” with Eric Normand and Pierre Yves Martel on tour de bras

 

2017 “The afterlife of trees” mit Ernesto Rodrigues, Biliana Voutchkova, Guilherme 

 

           Rodrigues, creative sources, Portugal

 

2017 “Metrics” with Stephan Erlend Apneseth, Morten Barrikmo

 

         Hans Knut Sveen, Stefan Lindvall on Hubro records

 

2016 Solo “Terrain”, on Gaffer Records

 

2016 Album Splitter Orchester/Felix Kubin – Shine on you crazy diagram, mit Splitter  

 

         Orchester, on Gargarin Records

 

2016 Album George Lewis & Splitter Orchester – Creative Construction Set, mit George 

 

          Lewis and Splitter Orchester, on mikroton recordings

 

2016 “Hue”, Great Waitress on Another Dark Age

 

2015 “Spill plus” with Tony Buck and Damon Smith, on nuscope, USA

 

2015 Studer Frey, one track on Leo Records

 

2014 “Flock” with Great Waitress, Monika Brooks and Laura Altman, creative sources, 

 

          Portugal

 

2014 “Echtzeitmusik” berlin on microtone, one track with Spill

 

2014 “Radiation”,Transmit, with Tony Buck, Brendan Dougherty, James Welburn on

 

          Monotype

 

2013 “Fluoresce”,SPILL (Duo with Tony Buck)  monotype, Poland

 

2013 “Plume”, trio with Tony Buck and John Butcher, unsounds, Netherlands

 

2013 “Fukushima!” compilation, Solo, on presqu'ile records, Switzerland

 

2013 “Gardener” Duo with Chris Abrahams, relative pitch records, New York

 

2012 “Stockholm Syndrom” with SPILL (Duo with Tony Buck) on

 

          Beirut label “al maslakh”

 

2012 “Thread”, with Annette Krebs and Anthea Caddy, Another timbre, England

 

2012 “Myriad”, Duo with Christine Abdelnour, unsounds, Netherlands

 

2012 “Lucid” with “Great Waitress”,Monika Brooks and Laura Altman, splitrec, Australia

 

2011 “Schatten” Duo with Anthea Caddy (cello), Dromos Records, Portugal

 

2010 "Heartland" Solo, Another Timbre, England

 

2010 "Teeming" Duo with Christine Sehnaoui (alto sax),Olof Bright, Sweden

 

2009 "Gold", with Spill, Creative Sources, Portugal

 

2008 “Mayas Nutters Olsen Galvez”, Creative Sources, Portugal

 

2007 Trio Cd “phono phono”,with Sabine Vogel and Michael Renkel,  

 

          Absinth Records, Berlin

 

2005 “Mayas Nutters Olsen Galvez – Dirty in the different tradition”,

 

          with Koen Nutters, Morten Olsen, Carlos Galvez, fmr, London

 

2003  “n-collective - News from Holland vol.1”, x-or records

 

          with Koen Nutters, Morten Olsen, Carlos Galvez

 

2003 n collective, news from Holland volume 1, one track with

 

          “Mayas Nutters Olsen Galvez

 

 

 

Presse

 

 

 

“..Magda Mayas has expanded the language for internal piano music making”

 

Peter Margasak, Downbeat Magazine, 2010

 

 

 

 

 

"...it's hard to believe that it's a recording of solo piano music. Mayas' training as a classical musician has helped her develop a highly attuned sense of touch for the keyboard, which is still in evidence but now extends to the percussive treatment of strings, arresting control of attack and resonance, and the real-time orchestration of timbres…she's developed an approach to the piano that grapples with the entire instrument, from strings to soundboard, keys to frame..." Michael Rosenstein - Paris transatlantic magazine

 

"It is one of the widest and deepest adventures into the sonic heart of the piano, including its entire cardiovascular system attached to it.(...) It is so powerful that it's captivating."

 

Stef Gijssels 

 

 

 

"Put together, it's an exhilarating sonic brew: after her introductory drones disperse, the music flies with cartoon-like velocity. Metrically intricate, brittle patterns ricochet against the instrument casing like it's a pinball machine, strings twanging together like the expressive tuning of a blues guitarist. Towards the finish, keyboard harmonies get more empathically struck – Mayas began with the future and has worked back to the instrument we already know."

 

Phillip Clark, The Wire

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

cover photo by Peter Gannushkin